Reports & Testimonies

Recommendations Database

GAO’s recommendations database contains report recommendations that still need to be addressed.
GAO’s priority recommendations are those that we believe warrant priority attention.
We sent letters to the heads of key departments and agencies, urging them to continue focusing on these issues.
Below you can search only priority recommendations, or search all recommendations.

Our recommendations help congressional and agency leaders prepare for appropriations and oversight activities, as well as help improve government operations.
Moreover, when implemented, some of our priority recommendations can save large amounts of money, help Congress make decisions on major issues, and substantially improve or transform major government programs or agencies, among other benefits.

As of September 14, 2019, there are 4798 open recommendations, of which 460 are priority recommendations. Recommendations remain open until they are designated as Closed-implemented or Closed-not implemented.

Recommendation: The Director of OPM, in consultation with the Chief Human Capital Officers (CHCO) Council, should establish and implement a process for regularly updating the performance management website to include all available guidance and resources, making this information easily accessible, and providing links to other related websites. (Recommendation 1)

Comments: OPM agreed with this recommendation. To fully address this recommendation, OPM needs to implement a process to regularly update its performance management website with all available guidance and resources.

Recommendation: The Director of OPM, in consultation with the CHCO Council, should develop and implement a mechanism for agencies to routinely and independently share promising practices and lessons learned, such as through allowing agencies to post such information on OPM's Performance Management portal. (Recommendation 2)

Comments: OPM agreed with this recommendation. To fully address this recommendation, OPM needs to implement a mechanism for agencies to share lessons learned.

Recommendation: The Director of OPM, in consultation with the CHCO Council, should develop a strategic approach for identifying and sharing emerging research and innovations in performance management. (Recommendation 3)

Comments: OPM agreed with this recommendation. To fully implement this recommendation, OPM needs to develop a strategic approach for identifying and sharing emerging research and innovations in performance management.

Recommendation: The Director of OPM, after consultation with the CHCO Council, should broadly disseminate to agencies the promising practices and lessons learned, such as those described in this report, as well as work with agencies through such vehicles as the CHCO Council, to identify any additional practices. (Recommendation 2)

Comments: OPM partially agreed with this recommendation. In December 2018, OPM stated that it plans to continue to use promising practices and to issue guidance on progressive discipline and tables of penalties. To fully implement this recommendation, OPM will need to build on its existing efforts to disseminate lessons learned by considering additional practices from other sources that are not being disseminated, such as those used by other agencies. On July 2, 2019, OPM restated it partially concurs with this recommendation. OPM stated that it issued a guidance memorandum to Federal agencies on October 10, 2018, to aid in the implementation of EO 13839, section 5, Ensuring Integrity of Personnel Files. OPM said it will continue to use its accountability toolkit which includes some of the key practices and lessons discussed in the report.

Recommendation: The Director of OPM, after consultation with the CHCO Council, should provide guidance to agencies to enhance the training received by managers/supervisors and human capital staff to ensure that they have the guidance and technical assistance they need to effectively address misconduct and maximize the productivity of their workforces. (Recommendation 3)

Comments: OPM partially agreed with this recommendation. In December 2018, OPM stated that it plans to provide guidance to agencies on training requirements for managers, supervisors, and human resources staff. While it is not responsible for providing training, OPM needs to take steps to help agencies improve the training they provide supervisors and managers on addressing misconduct. On July 2, 2019, OPM restated that it partially concurs with this recommendation. OPM stated that it will continue to play its statutory role under 5 U.S.C. chapter 41 and will support agencies on a cross agency priority goal, which could be read to encompass training, pursuant to the President's Management Agenda. OPM said it has proposed revisions to regulations for misconduct and unacceptable performance. OPM stated that it will work with the CHCOs on guidance or education on the final regulations on performance and misconduct once they are finalized.

Recommendation: The Director of OPM, together with the CHCO Council, should track government-wide data to establish a baseline and analyze the extent to which the seven Title 5 special payment authorities are effective in improving employee recruitment and retention, and determine what potential changes may be needed to improve the seven authorities' effectiveness. (Recommendation 1)

Comments: OPM partially concurred with the recommendation and said that by August 2018, OPM would (1) track Governmentwide data to establish a baseline of agency use of the seven Title 5 special payment authorities by occupation with a focus on mission-critical occupations; and (2) work with the CHCO Council to determine what changes may be needed to improve the seven authorities' effectiveness. OPM said agencies are in the best position to analyze the extent to which special pay authorities, when used in conjunction with other human resources flexibilities, improve their ability to recruit and retain their employees. However, we noted that by working with the agencies through the CHCO Council, OPM would be better positioned to track government-wide data to analyze the extent to which Title 5 special payment authorities improve employee recruitment and retention. In December 2018, OPM told us that it established a baseline to measure changes over time, on an annual basis, regarding the use of the seven special payment authorities. OPM also stated that it is working with the CHCO Council to administer a survey to obtain agency input on how to improve the authorities' effectiveness. However, documents OPM provided in December 2018, provided no information on actions taken on this recommendation. To fully implement the recommendation, OPM needs to work with the CHCO Council to analyze changes in government-wide data and the extent to which the seven special payment authorities are effective. We will update the status of OPM's actions to implement this recommendation as OPM provides any documentation responsive to it, as we requested in February 2019.

Recommendation: To further improve security over personnel and other sensitive information at the agency, the Acting Director of OPM should improve the timeliness of validating evidence associated with actions taken to address the US-CERT recommendations.

Comments: OPM partially concurred with the recommendation. The agency is working on making improvements to its automated system to further support its remedial action management processes, including timely closure. To fully implement the recommendation, OPM needs to review closure packages or otherwise validate the effectiveness of the actions taken to implement this recommendation. In December 2018, OPM told us it plans to provide evidence of these actions by spring 2019.

Recommendation: To further improve security over personnel and other sensitive information at the agency, the Acting Director of OPM should develop and implement role-based training requirements for staff using Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation tools.

Comments: OPM concurred with the recommendation. In December 2018, OPM stated that it is working with its learning management system vendor to develop role-based training requirements for its continuous monitoring program, but had not yet targeted an expected completion date. To fully implement the recommendation, OPM needs to issue role-based training requirements for individuals who configure and maintain the deployed continuous diagnostics and mitigation tools. OPM has not yet provided evidence of taking such actions.

Recommendation: To support its strategic and open data goals, the Director of OPM should improve the availability of the EHRI payroll data--for example, by preparing the data for analytics, making them available through online tools such as FedScope, and including them among the EHRI data sources on the OPM website and Data.gov.

Comments: OPM agreed with the recommendation. In December 2018, OPM told us it will establish a plan to make payroll data available through analytical tools such as FedScope no later than the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019. To fully implement the recommendation, OPM will need to improve the availability of payroll data-either from the existing EHRI system or the new employee digital record-by ensuring the data are prepared and made available for analytics research.

Recommendation: To improve internal controls for data quality, the Director of OPM should consistently monitor system-generated error and edit check reports and ensure that timely action is taken to address identified issues.

Comments: OPM agreed with the recommendation. In December 2018, OPM reported that it plans to begin follow-up efforts with agencies and shared service providers on payroll data errors and anomalies and to notify data providers of problems. To fully implement the recommendation, OPM will need to follow up with shared services centers and agencies regarding issues identified with the payroll data they submit to EHRI. These steps will help ensure the quality of historical and current payroll data. They will also ensure that system detected errors are resolved and do not compound over time.

Recommendation: To help strengthen the government's ability to compete in the labor market for top talent, and to improve the federal hiring process, the Director of OPM, in conjunction with the CHCO Council, should use this information to determine whether opportunities exist to refine, consolidate, eliminate, or expand agency-specific authorities to other agencies and implement changes where OPM is authorized, including seeking presidential authorization (as necessary) in order to do so. In cases where legislation would be necessary to implement changes, OPM should work with the CHCO Council to develop legislative proposals.

Comments: As of March 2019, OPM had taken some action to identify opportunities to streamline hiring authorities and improve the hiring system. For example, in December 2017, OPM said it planned, as part of its strategic planning efforts, to start a project to review its hiring authority data and take an inventory of the authorities used by agencies. In addition, in its July 2018 study on excepted service hiring authorities, OPM identified possible opportunities to streamline authorities-some with either low or no use and others with similar purposes-and outlined planned actions it would take to promote a more effective and efficient hiring process government-wide. These plans include collaborating with agencies to review agency-unique authorities for additional streamlining opportunities. In December 2018, OPM said that it continues to research and examine these streamlining opportunities as part of the broader initiative to modernize federal hiring practices under the President's Management Agenda, but did not provide a time frame for implementation. In addition, in its Fiscal Year 2020 Congressional Justification, which was released in March 2019, OPM included legislative proposals for new hiring authorities, such as for highly qualified experts and temporary appointments, to help agencies meet critical needs as well as a change to the criteria for granting direct hire authority. OPM's actions and future plans are positive steps forward that could help streamline hiring authorities and improve the hiring process. GAO will continue to monitor OPM's progress in implementing its planned actions.

Recommendation: To improve agency information security programs, Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management should update security plans for selected systems to ensure that all controls specific to high-impact systems are addressed, including a rationale if the control is not implemented, and where other plans are cross-referenced, ensure that the other system's plan appropriately addresses the control.

Comments: OPM agreed with the recommendation. According to OPM, it is developing and configuring an automated system that will allow for management of security controls and security plans. In December 2018, OPM officials told us that the office plans to complete these actions by June 2019. However, as of July 2019, OPM officials have not provided evidence that they have completed these actions.

Recommendation: To improve agency information security programs, Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management should provide and track specialized training for all individuals, including contractors, who have significant security responsibilities.

Comments: OPM partially agreed with this recommendation. In December 2018, OPM stated that it is working with its learning management system vendor to develop requirements, but had not yet targeted an expected completion date. To fully implement the recommendation, OPM needs to complete its efforts to ensure that it provides and tracks training for individuals with significant security responsibilities. As of July 2019, OPM has not provided evidence that it has completed these actions.

Recommendation: To improve agency information security programs, Acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management should re-evaluate security control assessments to ensure that they comprehensively test technical controls.

Comments: OPM disagreed with this recommendation. Because of the importance of ensuring personally identifiable information is protected and our national IT systems are secure, we maintain that OPM should fully address this recommendation. In January 2018 OPM provided documentation supporting its security control assessments, but this information did not demonstrate that the agency was ensuring comprehensive testing of technical controls. We have requested further evidence showing assessment results and OPM's reviews of testing procedures. In December 2018, OPM told us it plans to provide this information by spring 2019. However, as of July 2019, OPM has not provided this evidence.

Recommendation: To ensure that OPM builds the predictive capacity to identify emerging skills gaps across the government--including the ability to collect and use reliable information on the competencies of the federal workforce for government-wide workforce analysis--the Director of OPM should (1) establish a schedule specifying when OPM will modify its Enterprise Human Resources Integration database to capture staffing data that it currently collects from agencies through its annual workforce data reporting process; and (2) work with agency CHCOs to bolster the ability of agencies to assess workforce competencies by sharing competency surveys, lessons learned, and other tools and resources.

Comments: As of March 2019, officials reported that OPM is considering using EHRI, in combination with other sources to generate workforce data to assist agencies in their efforts to identify skills gaps. However, in March 2019, OPM reported that it now believes that collecting staffing gap targets through an alternative system, MAX Collect, will provide a more efficient and accurate means to collect workforce data than EHRI. OPM still needs to provide documentation demonstrating that the MAX Collect system accurately collects and stores a consistent set of staffing and competency data to perform valuable government-wide analysis to predict and address skills gaps in occupations affecting multiple agencies.

Recommendation: To help agencies and OPM better monitor progress toward closing skills gaps within agencies and government-wide, the Director of OPM should (1) work with the CHCO Council to develop a core set of metrics that all agencies should use as part of their HRstat data-driven reviews; and (2) coordinate with FAST personnel and explore the feasibility of collecting information needed by FAST as part of agencies' HRstat reviews.

Comments: As of March 2019, OPM stated it had addressed the recommendation by developing a multi-factor model consisting of core metrics including quit rates and retirement rates. OPM said that they provide the model to agencies for identifying mission-critical occupations, and that agencies should have the autonomy to determine which human capital metrics are important for achieving their missions. While this is an important step forward, to close the recommendation, OPM needs to provide evidence that agencies are using the multi-factor model as a common set of metrics to close mission-critical skills gaps, regardless of other agency-specific metrics. OPM will be providing a status of their efforts to address this recommendation as part of GAO's process of tracking agencies' priority recommendations.

Recommendation: To improve the classification system and to strengthen OPM's management and oversight, the Director of OPM, working through the Chief Human Capital Officer Council, and in conjunction with key stakeholders such as the Office of Management and Budget, unions, and others, should use prior studies and lessons learned from demonstration projects and alternative systems to examine ways to make the GS system's design and implementation more consistent with the attributes of a modern, effective classification system. To the extent warranted, develop a legislative proposal for congressional consideration.

Comments: In December 2018, OPM told us that it developed the classification post-implementation study for the grants management series (1109) and will be ready to issue draft standards for other short-term studies by spring 2019. To fully implement the recommendation, OPM still needs to work in conjunction with key stakeholders such as OMB and unions; complete its review of studies and lessons learned; and if warranted, develop a legislative proposal to make the GS system's design and implementation more consistent with the attributes of a modern, effective classification system.

Recommendation: To create a more effective human capital system that is more responsive to managing priorities and future workforce needs, the Director of OPM, in conjunction with the CHCO Council, should explore the feasibility of expanded use of enterprise solutions to more efficiently and effectively address shared or government-wide human capital challenges. Such actions could include: (1) seeking cost savings and improved functionality through coordinated government-wide Human Resources Information Technology planning and acquisition, (2) seeking agency input to ensure OPM's workforce planning tools provide effective guidance for agencies, and (3) sharing workforce planning lessons learned and successful models across the government.

Comments: In April 2017, OPM officials said it had developed some enterprise solutions to address shared or government-wide human capital challenges. For example, OPM officials said it created a multi-factor model workforce planning tool to assess the risk of skills gaps within mission-critical occupations. Officials said this tool is the foundation for any good workforce planning process to better understand which MCOs require the greatest attention. Officials said the model was drafted from input from an intra-agency workgroup, was beta tested with a workforce planning workgroup consisting of the majority of CFO Act agencies and finally approved by the full Chief Human Capital Officer's Council. This tool was then used by agencies to identify their mission critical occupations at highest risk for skills gaps. OPM officials said they plan to use this model to develop other tools. We believe this tool represents an important step forward in identifying enterprise tools and will continue to monitor OPM's continued efforts. To fully implement the recommendation, OPM needs to demonstrate continued progress in addressing government-wide human capital challenges, which may be evidenced by OPM's efforts to address priorities related to spurring productivity and organizational success within the Federal Workforce Priorities Report, as well as continued implementation of initiatives to support enterprise solutions already underway. OPM expects data will be available in FY19 Q2 that will indicate whether surveys and tools - such as a multi-factor model workforce planning tool, human capital management surveys, and an online human capital management forum developed by OPM to help agencies address government-wide human capital challenges - are meeting their intended goals. We believe these tools provide the necessary framework to monitor agency human capital needs and more efficiently and effectively address shared or government-wide human capital challenges.